Thursday, August 02, 2007

Once again, the Sox scored multiple runs in the 7th, propelling them to a victory over the Orioles. The Sox squandered and/or blew several scoring opportunities, but the 7 runs that they did put up proved to be enough. Mirabelli had the most glaring blown run with his baserunning folly in the 6th, but he atoned for that in the 7th with an RBI single.

Wakefield had another solid start. He went 7 allowing 3 runs. Although he's only had 2 quality starts in his last 7, he's 6-1 in that stretch. Wakefield has gotten a decision in each one of his 22 starts, which is odd since he doesn't usually pitch very deep into games, It's bizarre in this day and age of specialized relievers and the homerun ball which can change a game in an instant, that a starting pitcher has a win-loss record that looks like it's from 1923.

The game also saw the Red Sox debut of Eric Gagne. He pitched well. One of the two hits he gave up was a freak double which appeared to be a foul pop up until the wind took it back into the field of play. It fell in between two Sox fielders, then bounced into the left-field grandstand. It was one of the weakest doubles you'll ever see. Right after that, Gagne yielded a single, and an earned run.

Speaking of Gagne, Kason Gabbard made his Rangers debut. He pitched 5.2 innings, allowing 3 runs, and receiving a loss against the Indians.

The Yankees lost to the White Sox 13-9 (typical Yankees game score), which means we have an 8 game lead in the east. If the Red Sox go .450 over their remaining 54 games, the Yankees will need to go .593 in order to tie us. If we go .500, the Yankees will need to go .648. If we play .550 baseball, the Yankees need to play .704 baseball. If the Red Sox continue playing .611, the Yankees will need to go .759 in order to catch us. We are very, very close to winning our first AL East title since 1995.

The Sox begin a 6 game west coast trip starting in Seattle. Jon Lester goes up against Horacio Ramirez tonight at 10. don't ya just love west coast trips? Games at 10 PM on a Friday. yay.

The Red Sox were down 3-1 in the 7th, it's a situation we've seen too often with this team, and as a fan, I couldn't help but feel as though the game was over.

I don't know the exact numbers, but when trailing in the 7th inning or beyond, the Red Sox have a horrible record. We've lacked the clutch hitting that is necessary to win in the late innings. But last night we were able to get it done.

The rally started against Paul "Believe it or not I'm still in the League" Shuey, who walked Lugo and yielded a single to Pedroia. Parrish came in to face Ortiz, who hit a wall ball double to knock in Lugo. Manny was intentionally walked to load the bases. Bradford came in and was up against Youkilis. Youk had a sensational at-bat, fouling off some pitches before hitting a slicing line drive over the center-fielder's head, knocking in Pedroia and Ortiz, and giving the Sox a 4-3 lead. Lowell hit a hard, skipping ground ball down the third base line, but it was snared and he was robbed of extra bases. Varitek hit a single to knock in Ramirez, making it 5-3 Sox.

Not only did we get some clutch hitting, we had some solid pitching performances, as well. Tavarez went a decent 5 innings, allowing 3 runs, but keeping us in the game. Snyder had a great 1.2 inning effort. Lopez threw 2 pitches and got the win with his 0.1 inning. Okajima allowed a solo homerun, but that was it in the 8th. Papelbon struck out a pair in a perfect 9th for his 24th Save. I was kind of hoping we'd get to see Gagne, but maybe today we will.

JD Drew once again missed the game as he was with his son in the hospital.

Curt Schilling will start on Saturday against Seattle.

The Sox send Wakefield to go against Jeremy Guthrie. I have a bad feeling that Guthrie will destroy us.